Road rippers return

Sun., Nov. 25, 2007

The Spokesman-Review

Well the click, click, clicking has started as the studded tire people drive their vehicles down the roads and highways.

The rest of us will have to be careful when those vehicles take off fast from stop signs and traffic lights or go above 60 mph on arterials or the freeways.

I’ve had to repair my stud damage on the front of my vehicles several times.

Then we have to be very careful not to lose control in the deep stud ruts (real bad on freeway westbound center lane across Hangman Valley).

Answering Joseph Polowski’s letter (“Editorial lacked traction,” Oct. 23) about needing studs around Deer Park, the state patrol doesn’t use studs anywhere.

If he had read the many articles about winter tires and studs, he would know that studs are more dangerous than good winter tires 99 percent of the time and only equal to the best winter tires the other 1 percent (on glare ice.)

Many one-car accidents happen on rutted roads. One small-car driver told me he likes the grooves because his car steers itself.

It costs the state $13 million and two years to fix stud damage through downtown with many more millions to go farther east.

Paul B. Dougherty

Spokane

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